


This Wall Between Us

by HoneyFire



Category: Banana Bus Squad, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Fluff, Forbidden Love, Friends to Lovers, I HAVENT WRITTEN IN YEARS, If You Squint - Freeform, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, No Plot/Plotless, No Proof Reading we die like Men, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Some Plot, krii7y - Freeform, prince AU, to say that i'm a little rusty is an understatement
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:21:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27972248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HoneyFire/pseuds/HoneyFire
Summary: His late-night rides gave him time to think, and with time, thoughts and wondered aloud questions became a jarring conclusion that had his heart breaking into a million pieces."I'm in love with him, Smitt," he said in a shaky voice, reaching down to pat the gelding's neck. "Fuck."
Relationships: John | KryozGaming/Jaren | SMii7Y, John | KryozGaming/SMii7Y, Smii7y Jaren Smith
Comments: 6
Kudos: 33





	This Wall Between Us

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written and completed anything in over two years, please be gentle. 
> 
> Prompt borrowed from https://writing-promts-otp.tumblr.com/

Jaren was ten when they met for the first time.  
  
Curious as to why everyone told him to never go into the fields surrounding the kingdom, he had snuck out one night with the intentions of finding an answer. What he hadn't expected was to find an almost transparent purple barrier in the middle of a wheat field, reaching far into the skies and looking like a giant bubble.  
  
Giggling, Jaren began to run, wanting to touch it and see if the wall would pop. Nobody had ever mentioned a bubble in the fields, after all. 

However, he hadn't seen the rocks hiding in the field, and Jaren promptly found himself on the ground, crying out as a pain he'd never felt before exploded in his knee.  
  
"Are you okay?" A voice had called out to him as an unfamiliar chill danced down his spine and set his cheeks on fire. Amidst his excitement, Jaren had failed to see the boy with dirty blond hair standing on the other side of the bubble. But now, the boy was crouched just on the other side, looking concerned as he held a white stuffed bear in his hand. 

"Do you talk?" The boy tried again, cocking his head to the side. "Or are you just stupid?"

"I'm not stupid!" Jaren had hissed, forgetting all about his knee until he turned to face the strange boy. "I'm fine." He clenched his fist and grit his teeth, intent on not crying in front of a commoner. 

The strange boy watched with an amused grin as Jaren maneuvered himself so that they were facing one another, hissing when he moved his leg too fast. "What's your name?"

"Jaren," the smaller grumbled, resting a hand on his throbbing knee. 

"Well, I'm John, thanks for asking." Huffing, the boy, John, sat down to face him, resting his stuffed animal in his lap. 

Jaren couldn't quite tell what color John's eyes were, it was too dark, and the faint purple hue of the bubble-wall made it near impossible to tell, but they pierced right through him as if he were nothing. As if he too were a bubble floating out in the fields.

"Do you want to play knights?" He asked, hopeful as he pulled two small toy knights from his pocket. Because maybe this strange boy could be his friend, perhaps he could finally play with someone that wasn't the maids or his older cousin. 

John shrugged his shoulders. "Can't."

"Well, why not?" Jaren huffed, dropping the toys on the ground. 

"Are you the village moron? If anyone passes through that wall, my dad and your King are going to find out." John said sharply, hands clutching the bear in his lap as if it would disappear if he didn't.Jaren flinched, looking down at his hands. 

"Sorry," he mumbled, almost inaudible. "I didn't know." 

John was quiet for what felt like a millennium. When Jaren finally got the courage to try to stand, to leave and never come back, he accidentally locked eyes with the blond-headed boy. John's eyes had softened considerably, and gently, he held Jaren's gaze. 

Then, John finally began to speak. 

Years before either had been born, Jaren's kingdom and John's had gotten into a small disagreement that quickly spiraled into a full-fledged war that would last them for years. Over time, the war would settle into a stalemate, neither kingdom admitting defeat. Ultimately, they each forbade their citizens from ever interacting with the other kingdom.

Thus, a spell was cast along the borders. If any person were to pass through it, both King's would be alerted instantly. 

By the time John had finished, the sun was just beginning to appear over the horizon, signaling that Jaren needed to get home before anyone noticed his absence. With a large stick, he'd found, Jaren hobbled to his feet. His knee still hurt, and it was oddly stiff compared to his uninjured left one.

As he turned to say goodbye to John, something soft and white hit him in the face. John's bear.

"Meet me here, same time next week," John had told him, a soft smile playing on his lips, and if Jaren could have run over and hugged him, he would have.

That next week, Jaren would limp out to the same place and meet with John again, and again, and again. They wasted no time becoming the best of friends, sharing the same jokes, and laughing together for countless hours.

Jaren learned that John was a Prince just like himself. He knew that John hated crickets and loved every type of music except traditional. That they both enjoyed summer nights and the thrill of sneaking out, and when he was fourteen, he learned that John was afraid of horses. 

"You don't like Smitty?" Jaren had whined from where he was perched up in the saddle. 

"You named it?" John all but yelled, his wide eyes fixated on the black and white gelding. Jaren still wondered what color they were. "Why did you bring it?"

Jaren carefully dismounted, reaching up to rub the horse's neck. "Figured it would be easier to ride rather than limp all the way here."

His knee had never truly healed, even after four years. He had hidden the injury out of fear that his parents would find out about his escapades with John and put a stop to it, and as a result, it had healed incorrectly. His punishment was a permanent limp.

"But your limp is cute," John pouted with a cross of his arms. 

Deep in his belly, Jaren felt butterflies come to life, fluttering about as if John's words had awoken them from their slumber. At the time, he didn't understand why it only happened around John. "Stop it," he tried to sound annoyed, but the smile forcing its way across his plush lips spoke otherwise.

"Cute," John taunted, walking up to the barrier that stood tall between them. 

Jaren mirrored his movements, his horse following alongside him. For every step the horse took forward, John took one back, looking at the animal as if he were the devil himself.

"You really don't like him?" Jaren cocked his head to the side, coming to a stop just a few inches away from his transparent barricade. For a long moment, John stared, but slowly, carefully, he returned to his former spot, just a few, painful inches away. "Their size freaks me out," he backed up once more as the horse stuck its head through the barrier, interested in what he smelled like.

It would be a month of meeting Smitty before John would finally pet him, and in a year, he would be introducing Jaren to his new mare, a gray dapple named Kryoz. Jaren would catch himself being jealous of the horses for crossing the border without consequence. 

Jaren was sixteen when he realized he had fallen for the older boy. The one that he could never hope to even touch. 

He hadn't met with John in months. By now, they had grown into young men, with John turning eighteen during his absence. With that growth came an increasing number of castle duties; it became nearly impossible to catch each other. One always happening to be busy when the other was blessed with free time. 

Jaren had taken to riding alongside the border every night, hoping to catch a glimpse of John and the sassy mare that always seemed to nicker when she saw them. His late-night rides gave him time to think, and with time, thoughts and wondered aloud questions became a jarring conclusion that had his heart breaking into a million pieces.

"I'm in love with him, Smitt," he said in a shaky voice, reaching down to pat the gelding's neck. "Fuck." He didn't quite know when the tears started, only that he rode home with watery eyes and woke up sick the next day from it. 

He wouldn't ever tell John, he decided.

It took three long weeks for him to finally hear the happy cry of Kryoz as she cantered through the field, John crowing right along with her.

"Jaren!" John practically jumped off the mare, not waiting for her to stop as he ran up to the wall. "It's about time I caught you out here!" Jaren could have come through the barrier right then and there. 

"Where have you been, buddy?" John's smile faltered for a moment, and it was all Jaren needed to understand. "Oh." 

He knew now why his heart clenched the way that it did whenever John brought it up. "Well, who is she?"

John shrugged, kicking a pebble that hit Jaren's leg. "Some snob nosed Princess from a few kingdoms over," he smiled, but Jaren knew that it was forced. He could see it in his eyes. "But she doesn't matter! What escapades have you been up to?"

All too suddenly, it was difficult to look into the elder's eyes because how was he supposed to tell John that he wanted the man all to himself. That he wanted to be the only one to have him. 

"Go on, spit it out," a pebble hit him in the chest, giving him no choice but to look up to find John with a handful of small stones. John was just inches away, locking eyes with Jaren's as soon as they met. He still couldn't tell their color. The purple in the magical wall would never let him learn such a tiny detail. "Jaren."

There was a tone to John's voice that he had never heard before, gentle and laced with concern. "What's the matter?"

In truth, there was no point in telling John anything. They could never do anything about Jaren's feelings, even if John returned them. He could never pull John in and kiss him like he craved, could never go on casual dates or meet in the daylight. It would never work. Yet, even with all of these reasons floating in his head, his lips moved on their own. 

"I'm in love with you," he blurted. Still, instead of stopping and regretting his actions, he kept talking, "I fell in love with you. Alright?"

He turned, unable to look at or acknowledge John's reaction. "Fuck," he took Smitty by the reins, guiding him around so that he could mount and disappear into the night. So he could run away from his mistakes and pretend that his tongue had never slipped. That this had never happened.

"Don't you dare run from me," John's voice cracked. Jaren paused, then slowly, he turned. John had tears in his eyes, and his hand was shaking. "I'm in love with you too."

It would take all Jaren's willpower to not run into his arms and kiss him right there. It would take even more for him to sit down and discuss his and John's feelings. By the time he was headed home, the sun was peeking over the horizon, bright oranges and reds painting the dark sky with light. John was his.

Their meetings would become more frequent again. 

At least once a week, they would meet and talk from dusk until dawn, sharing stories and exchanging blankets to cope with the barrier still standing between them. It was good enough for Jaren. Being surrounded by a blanket that smelled like John was enough to soothe his aching heart for the time being.

At some point, he got sloppy. His father confronted him about Smitty disappearing from the stables at night. He demanded to know where his son was going every night. When Jaren could give no answer, his father responded by doubling the number of guards watching over him. 

"What if we ran away?" John proposed one night as they laid on their backs and stared at the stars. "What if we just took enough money to live off and ran off into the sunset together, never to be seen again?"

It was stupid. With the barrier in place, they wouldn't be able to go very far before guards caught them on either side. "Buy a cottage and live happily ever after?" Jaren had entertained the thought. "Sounds like a dream."

"I'm serious," he turned to meet John's gaze. "What's the point of staying here when we can take off and be able to touch each other whenever we want. Do whatever we want, whenever we want."

Jaren brushed the comment off, remarking that happily ever afters was for storybooks and not two lonely Princes. But when his father would lock him into his bedroom for the first time, he began to change his mind.

"Next week. We're running." He had blurted as soon as he arrived, taking John by so much surprise that he fell off of Kryoz.

"Are you serious?" He'd yelped, unbothered by his hard fall to the ground. "What's with the change of heart?" 

"I really, really want to kiss you." 

On Tuesday in the next week, Jaren would pack two bags full of his most precious belongings and all of the money he could need. For an hour, he combed through the castle hallways, memorizing his last footsteps in the grand building. That night, he would tuck an apology letter under his pillow and hug his mother extra tight. And when the full moon rose, he mounted Smitty and was off.

He took his time. Memorizing each and everything that he passed on his way. By the time he got to the edge of the field, John was there waiting for him. He grinned from ear to ear and let out a loud cry as his lover came into his sights.

"You ready to run, pretty boy?" John had laughed, practically vibrating in his saddle as Jaren came near.

"Hell yeah," was all Jaren could say because his smile was too broad, and his heart was beating out of his chest and was ready to burst.

For an hour, they would ride alongside the border until they finally came to a corner where both of their Kingdoms ended. They came to a halt, saying nothing. Then, with a giggle and a yell, Jaren would kick Smitty into a gallop, and suddenly, he was on the other side of the barrier. It pulsated a vibrant purple as both boys broke through, a loud hum resonating as it did so.

"Holy shit!" John cackled, "run!"

By the time palace guards would arrive, both boys would be miles away and too far out of their range. At sunrise, they would find a small hotel in a Kingdom they didn't know the name of. They would stay there for a week.

"Reckon I can kiss you now?" Were the first words out of John's mouth after they'd walked into the room. 

For eight years, Jaren had no hope of ever so much as touching John. But here they were, with John just a few feet away and with no purple curse standing between them. Right in front of him stood the only man he'd ever wanted.

John, the man he was hopelessly in love with. 

John, the man he was throwing himself into, grabbing him by the back of the neck and kissing him like he had been dreaming of doing for years. Warm arms held him by the waist as he kissed John with everything he had, which pulled him even closer when they broke apart, and Jaren could finally see his eyes.

"They're blue," he hiccuped, smiling dumbly as tears fell from his eyes.

"Hm?" His lover hummed, pecking his lips. 

"Your eyes," Jaren rubbed their noses together, never breaking eye-contact. "I could never tell what color they were before."

In a few weeks, they would purchase a cottage in the woods, just like they had planned. Slowly, word would spread of two Prince's mysteriously disappearing from their kingdom's on the same night, becoming a common legend amongst ordinary townsfolk. 

"You know one day they'll catch us, right?" Jaren had mumbled from where he was snuggled under John's arm, listening to his heart beating in his chest. A tattered white stuffed bear clutched in his arms, the very one John had to him on that fateful day. "They'll recognize our faces or my limp and send us right back."

John chuckled, nosing into space right behind Jaren's ear and kissing the skin there. "What do you think they'll do to us?"

"Make us explain and imprison us for our crimes against humanity," in the very back of his mind, Jaren knew that it was bound to happen. Their happiness couldn't last forever, because after all, happily ever afters was for storybooks. 

"As long as I'm in prison with you, I don't think I mind that."

"Shut up."

**Author's Note:**

> Constructive criticism is appreciated!


End file.
